Mr. Mxyzptlk
Mr. Mxyzptlk (pronounced "mix-yez-spit-lick") was an imp from the Land of Zrff in the Fifth Dimension. History Bored with living in the Fifth Dimension with beings that had powers to rival his own, Mr. Mxyzptlk started going to the Third Dimension where his powers were unrivaled. Using these powers he tormented humans taking on various guises such as genies, imps, and leprechauns. He had done this for centuries but eventually became bored with that as well. Challenging Superman When Superman arrived Mxyzptlk saw him as the "ultimate challenge" and began to play various pranks (such as making the statue of "The Thinker" come to life and attack Superman, only to have it revert to a normal statue after Superman broke it) on him in order to test out his powers. For a time, Superman began to think that he was going insane but Mxyzptlk decided it was finally time to reveal himself and explained that he was there to play games with him. Superman was not amused by Mxyzptlk's antics and claimed that a game must have rules. Deciding that was true, Mxyzptlk came up with one rule: if Superman could get him to say, spell, or otherwise reveal his name backwards, "Kltpzyxm" (Pronounced "Kill-tip-seize-em"), he would leave for ninety days. For the next year, Superman tricked Mxyzptlk into revealing his backwards name almost immediately after seeing him, usually by playing dumb. Mxyzptlk became increasingly enraged and obsessive over Superman's constant victories. This obsession led him to ignore his wife, Gsptlsnz, who was craving of his attention. Finally fed up with being ignored, Gsptlsnz suggested that Mxyzptlk simply destroy Superman. Mxyzptlk agreed and set about building a giant armored suit that took him the entire ninety days to complete. After his suit was completed, Mxyzptlk went to Earth and was returned to Zrff in less than five seconds. In spite of his constant fast victories over Mxyzptlk, Superman grew tired of seeing him and finally proposed a final game, which would rid him of the Imp forever. Mxyzptlk agreed to leave forever if Superman could get him to reveal his name backwards twice in a row. Superman pretended to have lost interest in any and all games but Mxyzptlk refused to allow it. After an aerial battle in which Mxyzptlk turned into the "ultimate smart bomb" with a kryptonite warhead Mxyzptlk thought he had won up until he saw that Superman had duped him into skywriting his own name backwards twice. Banished back to the Fifth Dimension again, Mxyzptlk wasn't done with Superman and vowed to think up a loophole and one day return. Even after he found pleasure in giving Gsptlsnz the attention she craved, Mxyzptlk still couldn't allow Superman to go unpunished."Mxyzpixilated" Using Bizarro As he promised, Mxyzptlk thought up a loophole: he only claimed that he wouldn't come back to bother Superman, but he never said that he'd not return to the Third Dimension. He decided that this meant that while he couldn't bother Superman directly, this didn't mean he couldn’t incite someone else to bother him. Finding Bizarro to be of sufficient power and perfectly lacking in intelligence, Mxyzptlk went to him and convinced him that Superman and all his friends were laughing at him. Enraged at this, Bizarro immediately went to Earth with some help from Mxyzptlk. Once there, he started to attack Superman. Mxyzptlk couldn’t resist revealing his hand in this, however, and indirectly mocked Superman. This proved to be a mistake, as the rulers of Zrff, the Tribunal, discovered it and brought him to trial. Mxyzptlk pleaded his case claiming that he had no choice but to torment Superman since it was just part of his nature but the Tribunal was having nothing of it as they did not approve of tormenting members "of a less advanced species" and even worse, going back on one's word. They stripped Mxyzptlk of his powers and banished him to Earth for ninety days promising to return his powers only if he did a good deed for the Third Dimensional beings. In spite of losing his powers, Mxyzptlk still insisted that it was worth it to see Superman get his, however, after experiencing pain and suffering, he decided that it was a bad idea. After Bizarro was finally subdued and calmed, Superman decided that the best punishment for Mxyzptlk was to put him into Bizarro's service. Mxyzptlk was taken to Bizarro's planet where he worked on the fake Metropolis and was tormented by Bizarro's Krypto. He has not been seen since though its likely he eventually returned to the his own dimension. Powers & Abilities Mxy possessed vast magical powers, capable of altering reality in almost any way he saw fit, with which he took great delight in tormenting and annoying Superman. The exact extent of his power is unknown, but he's capable of transforming humans' body and mind (best seen when he turned the entire staff of the Daily Planet into animals, bringing inanimate objects to life, flight, telekinesis, creating objects out of nothing, instant teleportation from vast distances (he was able to instantly transport Bizarro from his planet to Earth with just a snap of his fingers), and transformation into anything either organic or inorganic. He also seemed to be immortal: when first introducing himself to Superman, he mentioned that he had been tormenting humans for centuries, he was capable of living in space without air or any form of vehicle, he removed his own head without ill effect, and any injures he sustained with his powers could be instantly healed. His powers did seem to be limited, however, as any effects of his magic were removed once he left, giving the impression that he had to remain in the Third Dimension to keep it stable. It also appeared that he was somewhat capable of altering time since after his disappearance everything went back to the moment he arrived with only Superman being aware of anything that occurred when Mxyzptlk was there. Background Information Trivia * During his first appearance, Mr. Mxyzptlk claims to be the genies of ancient history. Gilbert Gottfried voices the parrot, Iago, in Disney's Aladdin and its sequel movies and series where he interacts with The Genie. In the second movie, "Return Of Jafar," the genie imitates Iago, which required Gilbert Gottfried to voice him for a few lines. Appearances * "Mxyzpixilated" * "Little Big Head Man" * "Secret Society" (cardboard cut out) Footnotes External links * * Category:Alternate universe Category:Magic-wielders Category:Superman rogues